• The Gauchos started the
season really slowly at 7-6-0, but UC Santa Barbara went 10-1-1 in
its next 12 matches and ultimately finished with a record of
17-7-1.

• The Gauchos defeated UC Riverside in the final game of
the regular season to clinch their 4th Big West
Championship.

• UCSB beat San Diego State in 1st round to
face Southern Methodist University in the second round of the
tournament and took a 3-1 win over the top seeded #1
Mustangs. Sophomore forward Nick Perera got the scoring going,
freshman midfielder David Walker netted the game-winner, and
sophomore midfielder Eric Avila added the final touch.

• The Gauchos had to get past Old Dominion in the third
round, in order to make it to the quarterfinals.

• UCSB handled the Monarchs this time, winning a 2-1
decision to advance to the quarterfinals. Forward Nick Perera
scored in the seventh minute and midfielder Eric Avila netted the
game-winner at the 60:48 mark.

• The Gauchos had to face Northwestern in the quarterfinals
in order to advance to their second College Cup appearance in the
last three seasons. The Wildcats were the No. 5 seed and spent much
of the season as the top team in the nation.

• Rosenlund, whose return to health has been one of
the key factors in UCSB's turnaround, scored his first goal of the
match and second of the season at 9:20 in the first half.

• Senior forward Bryan Byrne intercepted a pass on the
right wing and drove up the field, taking his defender with him. He
turned cut into the box and slid a perfect pass that eluded a pair
of defenders to Rosenlund who carried the ball in for the early 1-0
lead.

• Jon Curry beat his defender and crossed a perfect
pass to Rosenlund who one-timed it past goalkeeper Justin Pines for
his second goal of the match and third of the season.

• Just over 15 minutes later, at 62:22, it was
Rosenlund again as he took a feed from midfielder Eric Avila at the
top left corner of the box and drilled a perfect shot into the
upper right corner of the goal, beyond a leaping Pines. UCSB beat
Northwestern, 3-2.

• The victory was Santa Barbara's ninth in its last
ten matches and fourth in a row in the NCAA Tournament. With the
win, the Gauchos advanced to their second College Cup in the last
three seasons.

• UCSB faced Wakeforest in the College Cup for a chance to
play for the national title and UCSB would defeat the Demon
Deacons, 4-3. Sophomore midfielder Eric Avila, who struggled
to get it going in regulation and overtime, took the Gauchos' fifth
and final shot and gave Santa Barbara a 4-3 lead, shooting past
Edwards in the top right corner.

• In the NCAA title game, unseeded UCSB faced UCLA.
Throughout the years, UCSB had virtually no success against the
Bruins, although that was about to change.

• The Gauchos held an 8-3 shot advantage at halftime
and clearly out-played the heavily favored Bruins in the first 45
minutes of play.

• Even with the 2-0 lead Vom Steeg refused to sit on the
ball. With a makeshift backline of juniors Andy Iro and Greg Curry,
along with sophomore Alfonso Motagalvan - who started for just the
seventh time this season in place of banged up Brennan Tennelle -
playing well all day, the Gauchos continued to push
offensively.

• Playing in its second College Cup Championship in
the last three years, the UC Santa Barbara men's soccer team won
its first NCAA National Championship, the second in any sport in
the school's NCAA Division I history, with a 2-1 victory over UCLA
on Sunday in snowy St. Louis, MO.

• Back in sunny Santa Barbara, the UCSB students and Gaucho
Locos celebrated the national championship by carrying the soccer
goals from Harder Stadium through the streets of Isla Vista and
throwing the goals into the Pacific Ocean